[ltp] 240X questions.

[Charles E "Rick" Taylor IV]

On Thu, 2006-11-23 at 22:12 +0000, cloakable wrote:

> > Other that "avoid the 240X because the limit of 192MB of main memory is
> > too small even for a good Xubuntu experience", no.

> What do you recommend as an alternative, then?

If you've just GOT to have the form factor of a 240-series ... the 400
MHz 240 - because the RAM upgrade makes the machine usable.  Or, for
something the same size but more modern, a JVC MiniNote.  The keyboard
on the MiniNote isn't as good as a 240's, but the machine comes with
built-in wireless and CDRW, and is very similar in size to the 240/240X.

Comparing the 400 MHz 240 (320M) side-by-side to the 500 MHz 240X (192M)
was interesting (My wife and I used to use 240-series machines).  The
"slower" and older 240 was quite a bit more responsive due to it not
swapping to disk nearly as often.  For *both* machines, swapping out the
original hard disk for a 5400RPM drive increased performance noticeably.

I've since gotten rid of the 240X, but I still have the 400 MHz 240 -
now with Ubuntu Dapper installed.  FYI - you might find it easier to
install Ubuntu on either the 240 or 240X by putting your hard drive into
a laptop with a built-in CDROM, then transferring it back to the
240/240X.  Depends on what extra hardware you get with that machine from
Ebay.

If you just want a small but cheap Thinkpad, you could go with an X
series.  The X20 is *dirt* cheap and tiny, but lacks built-in wireless
(some models DO have built-in ethernet, though).  All of the X series
notebooks support much more RAM than a 240X does - and are quite usable
even with the overhead of Gnome or KDE.

I currently use an X31, and it's almost the perfect Linux laptop.  My
only complaint about my X31 is that DRI support for Radeons is a little
unstable.

> > The original Thinkpad 240 (no X) *can* be upgraded to 320MB of main
> > memory - which makes for a little better experience, even though the
> > processor's slower.

> I'd rather stick to supported amounts thanks :)

How do you define "supported" for a laptop that hasn't been in
production for years? :)

>From several years of testing, I can say that the only thing that 320MB
in a 240 breaks is BIOS suspend-to-disk, which you wouldn't use on
Ubuntu anyway (you'd use the kernel's built-in hibernation or swsusp2.)

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*  Charles E. "Rick" Taylor, IV <rick@rickandpatty.com>
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